PANELLISTS
24
January-February 2016
Fujifilm LTO7 marks first Australian delivery
Dicker Data , an Australian-based hardware distributor , has become the first local company to receive stock of the new Fujifilm LTO7 Ultrium 7 Data Cartridge . Paul Tutton , Dicker Data ’ s business development manager , sees Fujifilm ’ s Barium Ferrite technology as a key differentiator and factor in the success of LTO7 . He explained : “ BaFe ( Barium- Ferrite ) magnetic particles offer outstanding recording and retrieval performance and are ideal for long-term storage . The high coercivity , high signal-to-noise ratio and superior frequency characteristics make BaFe magnetic particles a superior technology that can help further increase the capacity and longevity of magnetic tape .”
Convergent Design ships Apollo
Convergent Design is now shipping Apollo , said to be the industry ’ s “ first ” HD multi-camera recorder / switcher . Apollo can simultaneously record up to four HD video signals , along with a fifth channel of either a live-switch between the four , or a quadsplit reference view . It can also function as a four-channel live switcher while recording the four isolated HD video signals . Additional functions are planned for release in the first quarter of this year , including twochannel 4K / UHD video recording , DNxHD recording , and cascade inter connect between up to three Apollos for up to 12 HD channels or six 4K / UHD channels simultaneous recording .
Next Month @ Management Server , Archive and Playout Systems
PANELLISTS
Fintan Mc Kiernan
CEO Ideal Systems South-east Asia
Christopher Slaughter
CEO CASBAA
Graham Stephens
CTO Media City Development Malaysia
A
BI brings new dimensions to MAM systems
As the broadcast and media industries continue to evolve , MAM systems are becoming increasingly sophisticated and packed with features that allow broadcasters and operators to stay ahead of the curve . How does Business Intelligence ( BI ) fit into the MAM equation ? Shawn Liew finds out …
s multi-format production and playout becomes a reality , and indeed a requisite for broadcasters , how cost-effective are operators , and are they delivering the content that their audiences are demanding ?
In today ’ s multi-format production and playout environments , finding operational efficiencies on an ongoing basis is essential , Tim Felstead , head of Product Marketing , SAM , tells APB . This , he says , is fuelling an evolving Business Intelligence ( BI ) sector , which SAM sees developing rapidly . “ BI is about using metrics to discover unseen inefficiencies ; therefore , highlighting where productivity gains and costsavings can be achieved .”
Felstead paints a simple illustration : A playout provider has 10 signal converters deployed in a given workflow . By introducing BI techniques and technologies , the playout provider is able to see that only a maximum of eight converters are used at any given time . This insight , thus , can allow two signal converters to be re-deployed , rather than remaining superfluous .
Do not lose sight of the principals in BI , Felstead reminds : “ Efficiency is what BI and the metrics it provides are all about . As long as the MAM / workflow system is able to track what ’ s being used where , when and how , you can then extract usage information from that system .”
With the irruption of advanced MAM systems and the interoperability of cloud platforms , broadcasters are offered the chance to learn about their own performances and of their audiovisual assets , finding out what are the more valuable parts of their core business and how they can be improved , as well as examine the performance of their produced media assets , says Mariano Monteverde , sales director for Asia-Pacific , VSN .
Speaking with APB , he elaborates : “ BI allows the crossing of different
Momentum is SAM ’ s core technology in the BI sector , and is dedicated to managing processes rather than the media asset .
sources of information , whether these are generated internally by company activities or externally from other applications . For the broadcast and media & entertainment industries , I would define BI as the capacity to extract insightful conclusions to define best strategies and tactics to be at the edge of audience demands . Thanks to BI , the enormous amount of data that many companies face and store can be placed into real value for further productivity and higher profits .”
For Tedial , the company insists on underlying infrastructure and employing a true object relational database for its MAM technology , which includes a number of MAM BI tools and applications . What role , then , does BI play within broadcast MAM operations ? Julián Fernández-Campón , solutions
❝ BI is about using metrics to discover unseen inefficiencies ; therefore , highlighting where productivity gains and costsavings can be achieved .❞
— Tim Felstead , Head of Product Marketing , SAM
director , Tedial , answers APB : “ It can be defined as a set of analysis tools and the underlying support infrastructure required to collect and process all Key Performance Indicators ( KPIs ) within the ‘ Media Factory ’. This allows broadcasters to detect bottlenecks , check the use of human and technical resources , monitor Service Level Commitments ( SLAs ) and present a summarised view of all ongoing tasks and operations .”
Properly implemented MAM BI systems , he adds , enable automated metadata-driven workflows and position the modern broadcaster to take advantage of increasing demands for content , cost-reduction and efficiency in today ’ s more competitive market .
One prominent solution Tedial offers is Tedial Evolution , which is fundamentally designed to provide visibility into all